Download Machine Will Stabilize The neck Bones (vertebrae)

Once your doctor has given permission to begin
exercise, the goal is to slowly increase the strength of
the primary and rotator cuff muscles to a higher than
pre-injury strength level. This reduces the chance of
further injury, helps diminish or eliminate joint pain
and reduces the chance of developing osteoarthritis.
(For more information regarding strengthening
exercises and osteoarthritis, please see our brochures
on these subjects at the club or on our website.)
In general, the body heals more quickly with
activity. Joint injuries heal faster when the muscles
supporting the joint are strengthened. As muscles
strengthen, all the tissue around them strengthens. The
key is strengthening without aggravating the injury,
which requires strictly limiting all exercise to a pain
free range of motion. This means stopping BEFORE
the point of pain! Initially the range of motion may
need to be very short, perhaps only a matter of inches.
It’s essential to resist the temptation to see
where the point of pain is each time the exercise
is performed. Continued movement to the point
of pain will prevent healing (like picking a scab
each day to see if a cut is healing).
These principles should be applied to the:
• MedX Lateral Raise Machine for the medial
deltoid
• MedX Arm Cross Machine for the pectoralis
(chest) and front deltoid
• MedX Pullover Machine, along with the
MedX Torso Arm Machine, for the latissimus
dorsi on the back of the shoulder joint
• MedX Triceps Machine and MedX Biceps
Curl Machine for the upper arm muscles
• Nautilus Rotary Shoulder Machine (most
importantly for the rotator cuff muscle group).
All exercises must be performed slowly, with a
limited range of motion, when necessary. As strength
increases, the pain free range of motion will usually
increase and pain will often be greatly reduced or
eliminated.
Shoulder strengthening is a drug free and nonsurgical approach to healing the shoulder joint. Even
if surgery is eventually necessary, increased muscle
strength is tremendously helpful to expedite recovery
after surgery.
C
an neck problems cause shoulder pain?
Shoulder pain, arm pain or numbness in the
hands often results from a pinched nerve in the neck
caused by a herniated (bulging) disc.
Strengthening the neck muscles with the neck
machine will stabilize the neck bones (vertebrae) as it
does in the lower back, often relieving the symptoms.
The neck machine has the additional benefit of
building and strengthening the bones in the upper
spine, preventing the slow collapse of these bones
from osteoporosis. (For further information regarding
osteoporosis, please see our Osteoporosis brochure.)
The
Shoulder
STERNOCLEIDOMASTOID
H
ow does strengthening help with
shoulder impingement?
When the arm
Impingement
Acromion
is raised, a precise
Clavicle
spacing is needed
Mus
between the top of
cle
le Bursa
the upper arm bone
sc
u
M
Cartilage
(humerus) and part
e
Shoulder
of the scapula bone rm Boenrus) Joint Capsule Blade
A um
(Scapula)
above the socket.
(H
Fig #3.
An impingement
may occur as the arm is raised, when a muscle
imbalance pulls the upper arm bone too high in the
socket causing the ligaments, tendons, and/or muscles
to become pinched. (See fig #3, above.)
A shoulder strengthening program with the MedX
equipment, emphasizing the pectoralis and the
latissimus dorsi muscles that pull the humerus (the
ball) down in the socket, will often relieve the pain
of impingement.
In an article for Physician and Sports Medicine
Magazine, Dr. Brent Kay wrote, “Shoulder
impingement syndrome heals slowly, and long time
consistency in strengthening is paramount.”
are shoulder problems more
among women?
Whycommon
Women naturally have more flexibility and joint
laxity then men. This natural laxity, coupled with the
inherent instability of the shoulder joint, translates
into common shoulder pain for women. Increased
strength in all the muscles that support the shoulder
is key to pain prevention and relief.
DELTOID
pECTORALIS
MAJOR
bICEpS
bRAChII
ArThriTis of The knee.
Frontal X-ray showing the knee of a
RIbS
59 year old patient with arthritis.
How do I get started?
Please speak to one of our staff members and
schedule an appointment to establish a shoulder
strengthening program specific to your situation.
— Mike Arteaga Owner, founder (1973), health and
fitness consultant
Last edited 2/18/14
www.mikearteaga.com
234 NortH rd, PougHkeePsie
3425 route 9W, HigHlaNd
452-5050
691-6161
T
he shoulder joint’s tremendous
mobility makes it unique. Compare
it to the hip joint, another ball and
socket joint in the body. There is no way
you can swing your leg around like your
arm! The hip has a much deeper socket,
which makes it more stable and thus
more difficult to injure or dislocate, but
also dramatically reduces its movement.
Recent anthropological research has indicated
that man’s tremendous shoulder mobility enables
greater throwing velocity and force than any other
of earth’s creatures. This ability has contributed to
his survival and amazing progression over the last 4
million years. Although a tremendous asset, shoulder
mobility comes at the price of joint instability.
The shoulder’s amazing mobility is only possible
because of its very shallow socket, which covers
only 20% of the ball on the end of the humerus. One
researcher likened it to a seal balancing a ball on its
nose. Due to this inherent instability, the shoulder
joint is particularly dependent on the strength,
balance and coordination of its muscles to prevent
injury and dislocation. Strong muscles apply a
constant tension called “tonus” across the joint,
which serves to hold the joint snugly together, even
when sleeping.
The shoulder’s shallow socket on the scapulae
bone and the ball on the end of the humerus (upper
arm bone) pivot against one another. The areas of
contact on the socket and on the ball are covered
with super-smooth tissue called cartilage that
provides almost frictionless movement. The joint
is enclosed in a sac called the joint capsule, which
contains synovial fluid that lubricates to further
reduce friction.
To make this arrangement work without constant
dislocation, the shoulder has a number of structures
that provide additional support. The Labrum is a
“ring” of wedge-shaped flexible cartilage that forms
a rim around the edge of the socket, adding depth.
The labrum also serves as a site of attachment
for some of the ligaments and muscle tendons
responsible for moving the upper arm and holding
the joint together.
The shoulder joint also has an “extra layer” of
muscles called the rotator cuff. The four rotator cuff
muscles are under the deltoid muscle and surround
the joint. Their primary purpose is to hold the joint
together; they also aid in lifting and rotating the
upper arm
The four rotator cuff muscles are the teres minor,
supraspinatus, subscapularis, and the infraspinatus
(see fig. #2). Each of
Supraspinatus
these muscles cross
the shoulder joint,
Scapula
with one end attached
Bone
to the scapula bone
(the socket side) and
Infraspinatus
the other to the upper
Teres
Minor
arm bone (the ball
side). They cross the
Upper Arm Bone
joint at different
points: on the front, Fig #2. Rear view of the shoulder with
back and top of the three of four rotator cuff muscles
joint, surrounding the joint to provide additional
symmetrical tension needed to hold the joint together.
The rotator cuff muscles function in precise
coordination with the biceps and triceps muscles
of the upper arm and the deltoid, pectoralis and
latisimus muscles of the upper torso, holding the
shoulder joint together, despite its underlying fragile
structure.
Why is muscle strength so important?
The stronger the muscles are, the greater the
stability of the joint they cross. A critical and often
neglected fact is that care must be taken to develop
balanced strength on all sides of a joint. When
the muscles become stronger on one side of the
joint, they tend to destabilize the joint rather then
support it. The muscles on opposite sides of a joint
(antagonist muscles) must always be strengthened
for joint stability, particularly with the shoulder joint.
Muscle imbalance is a major cause of joint
problems, especially with athletes. Sporting
activities, as well as the activities of daily life, tend
to utilize the muscles more on one side of each joint.
Very few people, including athletes, are aware of the
need to include strengthening for the antagonistic
muscles when they perform supplemental off field
workouts. This creates muscle imbalances which
eventually destabilize the joints.
With the shoulder, all the muscles that cross the
joint must coordinate with exacting precision to
prevent injury. For example, when the arm is thrust
forward with any throwing movement, the muscles
on the front of the shoulder contract explosively.
Simultaneously the muscles on the back of the
shoulder must lengthen at the exact same speed.
While they lengthen in perfect synchrony, they must
simultaneously resist very slightly, maintaining
a precise amount of pressure in the joint which
prevents the “ball” end of the upper arm from
popping out of the socket.
This amazingly precise muscle coordination
becomes very difficult to maintain when the
muscles are weak or when the muscles on one side
of the joint become substantially stronger than the
muscles on the other side.
A balanced strengthening program, such as
the MedX circuit, is essential to maintain this
coordination. When all the muscles surrounding
the joint are strengthened, it is often possible to
compensate for even severe injuries.
John Chickery, a long standing member, had his
severely torn rotator cuff surgically repaired at the
Hospital for Special Surgery in NYC. He was given
strict instructions to be very careful and let it heal.
Unbelievably, while relaxing on his back porch
a few days after surgery, a bird landed on his
shoulder; he jumped and tore much of the repaired
area again! After examining him, his surgeon told
him it would be difficult, if not impossible, to
reattach the now shredded tissue.
He suggested pessimistically that John try
strengthening exercise and hopefully he could “get
by.” With the help of our trainers, John started
the MedX circuit along with the Nautilus rotator
cuff machine. Beginning with a very limited range
pain free range of motion, he slowly began to
restrengthen the area.
On his next visit, his surgeon was surprised at
his improvement and encouraged him to keep it up.
Months later, the pain is nearly gone and John’s other
shoulder that was also in need of surgery “no longer
needs surgery” according to his amazed surgeon.
can I strengthen my shoulder after
Howinjury?
After a joint injury, damaged cartilage or
ligaments will often never heal to their original
tightness or strength, even with surgery. The
muscles are the only joint support structure that can
actually be brought back to a pre-injury and higher
strength level. When muscles are strengthened to a
higher than pre-injury level, they can compensate
for stretched ligaments or damaged cartilage.